Page 18 of Her Vicious Beasts: The Beginning (Her Vicious Beasts)

Aurelia

W e arrive at Halfeather’s mansion in the serpents’ Mercedes, with my hair in a fancy up-do and Trixie in a poofy flower girl’s dress complete with a slick ballerina bun.

I hadn’t been allowed to bring my phone, nor my wallet, or anything at all.

Charlotte had merely put a diamond choker—a gift from Halfeather—on me, shoved flats on my feet—Halfeather is too short for heels to be a good look—and pushed me inside the waiting car where Uncle Ron and Uncle Ben avoided my gaze.

I get out carefully, my nipples fully peaked and visible in the chill breeze, and I have to suppress the urge to rub them flat.

What a fucking mess. My heart pounds in my ears as Trixie takes my hand, batting her eyelashes at me, the bride .

In a mild panic, I search the mansion as if I’ll find friends here.

It’s as if I’m seeing the place for the first time and the polished Grecian pillars are now the ugly bars to the cage of matrimony. This is to be my new residence. My new prison.

Beak and Scuff greet us at the door with grim faces. Beak won’t look at me at all, and the tight leash I’ve been keeping on my fourth shield slips.

I might have done it on purpose, but I won’t let myself think of why.

Savage appears at my side, bursting with questions.

Scythe and Xander stride out of the mansion a second later, trying not to be obvious about their eyes taking me in from head to toe—or more likely, head to nipples.

I work hard to ignore them all and focus on following Beak and my uncles inside.

“That’s a pretty dress, princess,” Savage drawls, but his voice is tight. “You were pretty rude shutting us out— Oh fucking hell.”

Savage notices my father waiting in the entrance hall.

The Serpent King stands, tall and menacing, an aura of dark power about his body, and barely looks at me. He kisses Charlotte on both cheeks and nods his satisfaction at her getting me here. Trixie skips up to him and he kisses her possessively on the head.

She is a princess of his court, of course she gets royal treatment. A spear of jealously hits me, and I’m immediately ashamed of being jealous of a child.

“Father,” I say in what I hope is a cold, imperious voice. “We need to talk.”

Savage and the males go quiet next to me and I can feel them there, almost flanking me like guards. But that was just my anima reaching—looking for people on my side when there aren’t any.

“We do not need to talk, Aurelia,” he replies coldly.

His eyes flash in warning and a hint of shadow coils around his hand.

“Your marriage to Halfeather happens now.” He’ll use his snake on me here, I know it.

He won’t care if anyone sees. Obedience is all that matters to him, and back-talk can get me in serious trouble.

I think about it for a moment, my eyes darting around to see if I have any exits.

“Not so strong now, snake girl?” Xander’s snide voice comes in my ear and I want to cry. “You’re going to be a plaything for this old eagle. I wonder if he’ll let you out of your cage a few times a year?”

Biting the inside of my cheek before I completely lose it, I stalk forward. My arms are still crossed because I don’t want Beak and every male beast in this room to see my nipples still taut from a chill that has nothing to do with the temperature of the room.

Silently, I follow the group, with Beak, Scuff, and my mates close behind me.

My blood is pounding in my ears as we reach a new room, a sort of drawing room on the ground floor.

We stop outside as my father strides in, followed by Charlotte, Uncle Ben, Uncle Ron, and Trixie, who skips through as if this is actually a wedding procession.

My stomach churns, and I glance over my shoulder.

Savage, Xander and Scythe are silently glaring at me, as if they hate me for what is happening. As if it’s my fault. But Beak is giving me a look of warning—an order to get moving. I scowl at him and he has enough shame to look away.

I turn around and walk through the door as Savage says, “Want me to kill him for you, princess? I didn’t know you were a real princess.”

“Your father doesn’t like you very much, does he, little snake?” Xander drawls. “I wonder what bad thing you did to make him hate you.”

Being born. That’s the bad thing I did.

I swallow my pride as I walk into the drawing room where everyone is waiting for me in position around a lacquered wooden table.

Halfeather stands there, his receding scalp extra shiny as if someone has polished it for him, just for today. His eyes greedily take in my body. I dully wonder if that’ll be one of my jobs as his wife, scalp polishing.

An older male I don’t know—a tiger, I think—wears a formal suit and holds a folder full of papers. Likely a Council member to witness our union. Tigers are favoured for such things because they are usually impartial loners.

Halfeather rushes forward to take both my hands, eagerly kissing both, and I feel a hint of tongue. I shudder as he looks up at me with shining brown eyes.

“So beautiful, Aurelia. What a sight for an old bone like me.”

I freeze in horror as I register the emphasis on that one particular word. An odd choice of wording made very purposefully in front of others.

He knows what I am.

My eyes slide to my father, who is smiling mildly, then Uncle Ron, who is staring at his feet. Holy Mother, they’ve told him, and that’s why he’s so ecstatic to marry me. This is no normal marriage.

Halfeather will get me pregnant immediately to produce more of me. He’ll likely get others to do it too. The smartest thing to do would be to diversify the genes of my children to create the most powerful court since ancient times.

I wonder if I can turn into a mouse and scurry out the window, never to be seen again. But snakes eat mice. So do eagles, and my father is giving me a dark look that promises murder if I act out.

But I could turn into a tiger if I wanted.

Or a lion.

I’ve never tried it, but I could probably turn into a dragon, too.

I could destroy this house and everyone in it, if I wanted to. But then everyone would know that my mother was from the ancient house of Boneweaver. That we could turn into any beast we wanted as long as we’d been in physical contact with it.

But to do that would mean that everyone would find out and there would be a global manhunt for me.

The valuable anima who could produce more of her kind.

And a group of males and females who could turn into any beast?

That court would be the most powerful group in known history.

The Council wouldn’t allow it, and every underground mob boss would be after me. Chain me up and use me to breed.

So as Halfeather leads me to the table in front of the tiger councilman, I let him, holding back the burning of my eyes with all my might.

I glance over my shoulder again to see my astral prisoners watching everyone and everything closely. Scythe has disappeared and Savage stands by my elbow, peering over my shoulder to look at the papers. He lets out a breath that I swear I can feel and I shiver.

Halfeather brings out a tiny blue velvet box and my heart gives an unsteady beat.

“Perk up, little snake,” comes Xander’s voice on my other side now. “You’re going to be living in a mansion instead of that old hovel of yours. You can come and visit us every day.” And then closer to my ear. “He’ll make you fat with little bird babies. How many do you want?”

I suppress a gag as Halfeather unceremoniously takes out the ring and grabs my hand. It’s a huge diamond, round cut with a golden band. Halfeather gives me a haughty look as I stare at the massive rock, wondering how much I can trade it in for.

There has to be a way to get out of here, surely? Somehow, I can escape, I just know it. A piece of paper means nothing. Not to me, anyway.

“Sign here, please,” the councilman slides forward a thick parchment and Halfeather picks up the pen and scribbles in an impatient but elegant cursive. Just as I go to take the pen, Halfeather hands it over to my father. My hand hangs lamely in mid-air for a single, disbelieving moment.

Xander chuckles softly behind me. “The snakes follow the Old Laws, eh? Nice little loophole for your filthy kind. They should have executed you all back in the old purge.”

A chill creeps down my spine at the cold malice in my mate’s words, but I have no time to ponder Xander’s hate because I’m watching my father.

He signs the form in one brisk movement that tells me exactly what little importance I am to him.

And here I am, officially being given away as breeding stock.